The compilation is a time honored tradition to find new music on the music labels you know. Labels have been doing it for decades now, giving you a sampling of artists and tracks off of their latest release. There were countless labels with each their own, like Punk-O-Rama and Fat Music for Fat People. A time honored tradition these days by many labels that have transitioned to doing comps digitally. In a similar fashion, you can find a few labels putting together a tour package of their latest album releasing…

Most of shows I go to accompanied by the breadth of music I catch tend to never lend to a full surprise. I always know a minimum of one band on a bill. Rarely is it where I haven’t the slightest clue on a show. However, in the case of Touché Amore and tour bill of Jerome’s Dream and Dangers, I went in completely unfamiliar. It was exciting watching bands I had no idea what to expect from beginning to end with a passionate crowd bolstering the energy in the…

One of the pleasures of life is pure discovery. Going out to a place you have never been or taking a hiking trail that just caught your eye off the freeway. It brings a pure joy to seeing and experiencing the new things you took the chance to investigate. In the case of the night’s show, it was Retirement Party that was that discovery, coming through with Prince Daddy and the Hyena plus our local Troubled Minds. The guys of Troubled Minds are deservedly popping up more on the shows…

Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. They are what tend to separate you from your friends. They come out in many forms, from personality to what you wear. This is a word you could use to describe this lineup at the Marquee. In a night full of character, it started a little bittersweet with the last set by GodSpeedBall. One last fast paced punk rock performance on the big stage a good way to go out. Their on stage performance transferred from the small…

I can count on one hand the amount of local bands that I followed in high school that still perform today. Of that handful, there is one that has elevated to an international success and I keep purchasing every release to date. That band is Authority Zero. When I first found them, it was twenty years ago when I got my driver’s license and started finding my taste in music. The first lineup I knew was Jason DeVore, Jeremy Wood, Bill Marcks, and Jim Wilcox. I made every effort to…

Merriam-Webster defines party as a social gathering. For many, that is how most would define a concert or show. You could literally say we have double the party with both Pity Party and Dog Party on night’s bill. This is probably an obvious joke that has run its course over the time of their tour with Bad Cop/Bad Cop. No matter, it makes for a nice attention getter to talk about their stop in Phoenix with the added awesomeness of our local Venomous Pinks. Opening up was our local women,…

Third wave ska was born out of the punk scene in the late eighties, combining the sound of old school ska with the upbeat and fast paced nature of punk. Of those within the genre, there is only a pair I have watched in double digit. One of those tattooed on my arm, Less than Jake, and the other is Reel Big Fish. I used to joke they were a band that I couldn’t miss. That I always ended up at their Phoenix stops regardless of remembering they were playing.…

How often do you see a two band show? I feel like it is rare that any show I attend isn’t a minimum of three. However, that is exactly what happened on Streetlight Manifesto’s latest trip to Phoenix with Kitty Kat Fan Club. Although with bands this good, two is a good number. Our openers were Kitty Kat Fan Club, a familiar group to anyone who went to the last times that Streetlight Manifesto or Koo Koo Kanga Roo came to town. I was in attendance at both, though felt…

In my latest artist spotlight, it is a case for why you show up early for every band. I first saw Potty Mouth as part of the tour with Skating Polly. Skating Polly was a band I was recommended prior, but had not had a chance to watch live before. Though before those guys played there was this band called Potty Mouth. They are an all-girl four piece live, and three piece otherwise, that brought an enthusiasm to the stage. They played a pop punk brand of music with fantastic…

Have you ever heard a song and immediately were enamored with it? Hearing Amyl and the Sniffers song “GFY” for the first time on the Jonah Raydio podcast was just that. After that, I immediately jumped over to Spotify to listen to the rest of the self-titled album that it came from. The energy and sound grabbed me song after another on it. Of course, luck would have it they would be in town about a month after with a rad group of locals. Up first is a band I…